culture
-
Exclusive: NYPD’s William Bratton Vows to Win Back the Black Community’s Trust
Stop and frisk, a law-enforcement policy found to disproportionately target men of color, emerged as a key issue in last year’s New York City mayoral race. Now-mayor, then-candidate, Bill de Blasio, who is white and the father of a biracial teen son, spent much of his campaign decrying the measure and vowing to stop its…
-
The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross Wins Peabody Award
Henry Louis Gates Jr., editor-in-chief of The Root, is among the winners of the 73rd annual Peabody Awards for his PBS documentary series The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross. Peabody winners were announced live Wednesday on CBS This Morning, the first live television unveiling of Peabody awardees since the inception of the awards. While…
-
Reports: Michael Strahan Expected to Join Good Morning America
Former football star and current talk show host Michael Strahan is expected to join the cast of ABC’s Good Morning America on a part-time basis, the Associated Press reports. While the deal has not been completed, a person with knowledge of the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity told AP that Strahan will work…
-
911 Operator Helps Save Her Father’s Life on Her 1st Day on the Job
After months of training to be a 911 operator in DeKalb County, Ga., Crystal Morrow was prepared for her first day on the job. During the first half of her shift, Morrow answered several routine calls, including one reporting a burglary in progress and one about a house fire, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. Then came…
-
Venezuelan Tourist Cleared in Macy's Shoplifting Arrest
A Venezuelan tourist was acquitted of shoplifting at a flagship Macy’s store in New York that has been the target of claims by several black shoppers that they were racially profiled there, her lawyer said. According to the Associated Press, Maria Paez said that during a Sept. 12 trip she carried a few items around…
-
‘I, Too, Am Harvard’ Campaign Raises Alumnae Concern
As we watched the video for “I, Too, Am Harvard,” our hearts broke. Harvard undergraduates recounted painful experiences of isolation and alienation. They spoke of being maligned, underestimated and underappreciated. One student said that he did not feel valued or valuable. Another student said that although she went to Harvard, she was not “of Harvard.”…
-
Are White Men Allowed to Laugh at Black Men’s Expense?
My boyfriend (white) and I (not white) were walking down the street in New Orleans, and I caught him chuckling at the sight of an African-American teen struggling to keep his baggy pants up while carrying a couple of shopping bags. We got into a pretty heated discussion about whether or not this was “objectively”…
-
The 1st Black Emojis Are Here … and They Don’t Come From Apple
Oju Africa, a division of the African mobile company Mi-Fone, has one-upped tech giant Apple, launching the first set of black emojis ever, the International Business Times reports. The collection of 15 emojis is a direct result of an outcry over the lack of diversity in the current set, much of which comes from Apple.…
-
Is This Vanderbilt Mural Racist?
After increased backlash, the mural of new Vanderbilt University football coach Derek Mason is going to be changed, The Tennessean reports. It has been more than two decades since the tradition of painting coaches’ portraits on the wall was started, but now students have petitioned for this particular image to be changed. Mason himself has said…
-
Jury: Officers Wrongly Arrested Black Teen but Did Not Use Excessive Force
Three white Pittsburgh police officers were convicted of falsely arresting a black student at a performing arts high school, although they escaped charges of using excessive force to detain the youth, the Associated Press reports. Jordan Miles, now 22, was awarded about $119,000 in damages from an all-white jury of four men and four women.…